Beyond Colorado governor, vote the whole ballot in the June 26 primary (letter)

When voters fill out their ballots between now and Tuesday, June 26, they will have an opportunity to vote not only for governor, but also for a Congressional candidate and a number of other statewide offices. It turns out that in the last midterm election in 2014, 200,000 Democratic Party voters did not fill out their ballots below the "red line," meaning any office other than governor.

Voters need to recognize the importance of the other offices on the ballot and particularly the office of attorney general. The Colorado attorney general, with an office of 500 attorneys, is the chief legal officer for the state. This office can have a huge impact on what happens in the state but can also have a huge impact on what happens in the country.

The state attorneys general have become critical in providing a check on presidential power, and this is especially important when we have one party rule in Washington, D.C. The state attorneys general have challenged the Muslim ban and sued to save DACA. The Republican state attorneys general have sued to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Over the past few administrations, state attorneys general have altered the balance of power between states and the federal government.

We need an attorney general in Colorado who will fight for the citizens of our state, not only locally and statewide, but also nationally. We need someone who is smart, experienced and has national stature in this position. We need someone with experience managing a large number of employees, and that person is Phil Weiser.

Phil has an amazing resume: clerked for Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Byron White, worked in both the Clinton and Obama administrations and is the former dean of the University of Colorado Law School. While at the Department of Justice, he led teams of dozens of lawyers on complex antitrust and consumer protection cases.